Readers overwhelmingly oppose attack on Syria

Letters to the editor on Syria for Sept. 3, 2013

Al Qaeda would have a navy

By lobbing a bunch of seaborne cruise missiles at dubious Syrian targets, Al Qaeda will effectively have a proxy Navy. This has got to be the height of stupidity, all for the cause of President Obama’s vanity!

Bruce Oja

Oceanside

Aid is better than bombs

The bombing of Syria will help no one.

Instead the U.S. could help the millions of refugees and bomb them with food, water, medical and other supplies.

This would show the world that we really want to the help in the sectarian and religious war that displaced the refugees.

Herbert Mertel

La Jolla

Lots of killings in the U.S., too

Secretary of State John Kerry is making the administration’s case for bombing Syria by stating 1,400 people were killed by use of an illegal chemical by Assad’s regime, namely Sarin. That is certainly a horrible figure but my Google research shows there was 1,403 homicides in Chicago between 2010 and 2012!

Detroit had 1,115 homicides during that same three years. What has our government done to alleviate those numbers?

Dan Yelvington

San Carlos

Send a hospital ship instead

In San Diego Bay there is a white hospital ship named “Mercy.” Anchoring that ship off Syria to treat innocent victims of the war would do far more to demonstrate our humanitarianism than lobbing cruise missiles into outhouses in the desert.

Robert Franz

Bonsall

Weapons could fall into even worse hands

The Syrian dictator kills 100,000 of his own people with tanks, artillery, helicopters and cluster bombs with little reaction from the American president. Then he kills one thousand or so more with chemical weapons, and now it’s such a big deal? I don’t understand the difference.

As far as I can tell there are no friends of America involved in the Syrian conflict. On whose behalf would we involve ourselves? al-Qaeda? What would happen to Syria’s chemical and biological weapons if the Assad regime were to fall? I think Assad’s survival would be the lesser of two evils for anyone concerned about these weapons falling into the wrong hands.

Brett Alan Pankauski

Spring Valley

Brutality sure to remain in Syria

To intervene in Syria is to choose between people who act against our interests and ones who hate us.

Deposing Assad will likely not result in a democratic state, but an Islamist regime with al-Qaeda influence.

Is gassing people more brutal than ripping them apart with bombs? I don’t know, but all factions are brutal. The United States is not the cause of these atrocities, and we have nothing to feel guilty about. We invaded Iraq to stop the brutality of a dictator. After all the death and maiming of our brave troops (and locals), the brutality remains. President Obama will not emerge a winner interfering with ferocious people. Stay out of this dogfight.

Marek L. Winiarz

Jamul

Queries on terrorists, financial cost

Congratulations to President Obama for seeking permission of Congress to attack Syria. Congress has the right to declare war and punish offenses against the Law of Nations. Congress must ask whether the United States should conduct an act of war against the government of Syria, which has not attacked the U.S. and which is fighting a civil war. Does the United States want to continue to aid those who are in bed with al-Qaeda, an avowed enemy of this country?

The Department of Defense has furloughed thousands of civilian workers, yet now plans to spend multimillions of dollars to attack Syria. Where is this money coming from — or is it also being charged to our children and future generations? War cannot be done on the cheap. Have we learned nothing from Iraq?

Michael Williams

Imperial Beach

What’s a weapon of mass destruction?

Lately we’ve been hearing a lot about the deadly gas used in Syria. One tiny drop of serin gas can kill a person in a horrible way. In many cases the news reporters are referring to this gas and other possible chemical gases as “weapons of mass destruction,” which cannot be allowed to be used under any circumstances.

Didn’t Saddam Hussein use sarin gas to kill 100,000 Kurds? I thought he didn’t have any “weapons of mass destruction.” I’m confused.

John Horne

Rancho Santa Fe

Mission will not be accomplished

How many Syrians will have to be killed by U.S. weapons to allow our president to visit an aircraft carrier and view the unfurling of a banner that reads:

“MISSION ACCOMPLISHED”?

The lesson not yet learned from Iraq is replacing a Sunni regime that murders and persecutes Shiites by replacing it with a Shiite regime that murders and persecutes Sunnis is not progress.

Russell Bonne

San Diego

Assad needs to be stopped

May I be so bold to state that I believe people need to get a grip and understand that the Middle East is no walk in the park? That said, may I also state that if anyone really thinks that Syria is our last problem in the Mideast, is living a fool’s dream?

I have heard politician time after time state that they do not support U.S. involvement in punishing Syria for using poisonous gas to kill 1,400 people, over 400 of them children. What are they thinking? If we let the monster Assad kill his own people with poison gas, what is next? This will simply embolden other dictators to do the same.

The fact is that we are involved over our heads in an action in the Mideast that will not end soon. The question is do we have the steel to stay the course, or will we listen to the namby-pamby, weak sisters who would have us allow this kind of immoral, irrational, and inhuman action to stand?

The answer is obviously, NO! We MUST attack Syrian military sites and be able to deal with the fallout. This is the reality. his is the role which we must play in the world. What do these weak sisters think will happen? Do they think that diplomacy will get the monster Al Assad to stop? These monsters only know one thing will stop them: a military response.

This is the same thing that happened when we needed to stop Hitler. The weak sisters said NO, we cannot confront Germany. here was that going to get us? We’d all be speaking German or Japanese if we’d have listened to those weak voices.

Get used to the idea America: You are in a war for your life. Get your hackles up and get ready for a few years of battling monsters and those who would kill with chemicals, use any means they can to continue their dictatorships, and threaten the United States of America.

If you’re not up to it, get out of the way, because the rest of us are ready, and I’m a Democrat!

Greg Morrill

Escondido

Fears ‘collateral damage’

No politician is talking about the number of innocent people or “collateral damage” that will result from missiles launched from the ships at sea. Or is our weaponry so sophisticated that only the bad guys are killed? What if one of the destroyers or even the aircraft carrier drifting off the coast of Syria were to be bombed, would this be considered collateral damage?

Hopefully there will be enough sensible people in government to stop this senseless bullying.

Gerrie Ryan

Escondido

Urges lawmakers to oppose war

Less than 10 percent of Americans support military intervention in Syria. We can’t prevent a war there, but we can keep ourselves from joining.

I urge Rep. Susan Davis, as well as Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein to vote against any sort of military action in Syria. This is a paramount issue that will remain on my mind when considering candidates for the next election. I will not vote for anyone who votes to intervene in the Syrian conflict. Additionally, if any of my current representatives support military intervention there, I would campaign for one of their opponents the next time they’re up for re-election.

Erin Rea

North Park

Congress should vote no

British Prime Minister Cameron did the right thing; he presented his case for intervention in Syria to the parliament and they said no. He plans to abide by their decision.

Obama should do the same, and in the face of overwhelming opposition he has, as the Constitution requires, passed the issue to Congress. They should represent the people and say no.

This is a trap for the Republicans — if they vote yes, and we get into another muddle in the Mideast, Obama will blame them. And there is no doubt it will be a mess — we seem to be on the wrong side in Egypt, and look at Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan. There’s no good news.

If Obama goes ahead without the Congress, it will be on him. If he takes no action, he will point to every atrocity and blame Congress. They can take it.

It is only our leaders who want to be masters of the world — we’ve had enough. The Mideast is a place where there are no good sides. I urge our leaders to stay out. And I urge Republicans not be caught holding the bag again.

Audie Price

San Diego

Bullets and bombs kill children, as well

How cynical to pretend that we must involve ourselves in the war in Syria to protect little children from poison gas. John Kerry is filled with sympathy for the little ones injured by this gas, ignoring the fact that any war injures children, our side and theirs, and causes few second thoughts among the movers and shakers who plan these excursions.

The case is far from certain who may have used this particular weapon, and why. Children and other human beings are just as dead and injured by bullets and bombs.

Pray God we have the sense to not emotionally let us ourselves be drawn into another war “to bring democracy to the Middle East.”

Patricia Sharp

Carlsbad

Would U.S. bombing be act of war?

Since Syria has not attacked the United States, wouldn’t an attack by the U.S. be an act of war? Wouldn’t this justify Syria setting off bombs in the U. S.?

Ron Carrico

San Diego

Might spark Armageddon

All of our allies have declined to participate in any military action against Syria. So our president threatens unilateral action.

Iran, Syria, Egypt therefore threaten a full retaliatory response against Israel, perhaps our closest ally in the world if not only in the Middle East. We are their only true last line of defense. Should this occur, Obama will be solely responsible for the possible annihilation of the Jewish state.

Worse, Syrian defenses are manned by Russia, including a full Russian naval facility within the country. Any attack on Syria will naturally include aggression against Russia, which could be catastrophic not only with international relations, it very well could end up initiating a world war. Will Obama assume responsibility for submitting the Jews to another slaughter? Who else has he to blame?

Anybody recall Nostradamus’ quatrain where he identifies the initiation of Armageddon as all out warring in the Middle East?

Unilateral military action by the U.S. against Syria very well could be the death knell for the world as we know it.

If there’s ever been a time to pray ....

Steve Fanter

Escondido

McCain and Graham seem happy

The two puppy dogs, McCain and Graham, got their pat on the head from Obama today for backing his proposed Syria action and are now wagging their tails in delirious delight.

Prudence M. Brandenburg

Clairemont

If those three agree, reader disagrees

I have been having mixed feelings about taking any action in the Syrian conflict.

On one hand, our success in helping moderate governments in this region thrive has been all but nonexistent at a huge cost in treasure, and more importantly the lives of our young men and women. On the other hand, we have a brutal dictator who, with his sponsor Iran, facilitates terrorism throughout the world and badly needs to assume room temperature.

Today’s paper gave me a clear sign. Anytime our feckless president, John McCain and Lindsey Graham agree on the same thing, it must be wrong.

Jim Mallen

Lake San Marcos

If reader was in charge ...

The Top Three Items on the “If I were king for a day” to-do List:

1) Syria – Plan A and Plan B. A is customary wreckage of resources, sites, capabilities. Messages to the world: Silence kills – and — Can China do this? Plan B — discover whatever is closest to Assad and destroy it – with no message. Assad will get it: Next time it’s you.

2) U.N. — obstruction has become obscenity. Institute a new Security Council, a “U.N. version 2.0”. Who’s going to quit? Expand the Security Council to nine (suggest adding Japan, India, South Africa and Brazil, and change binding agreements to passage by quorum, i.e. five).

3) Money as Free Speech ‑ Present a new argument: If it is illegal to shout “Fire!” in a crowded theater, what makes it legal for others to pay for someone to shout “Fire!” in a crowded theater.

Jack Diamond

Poway

Hit the outsiders

Obama’s cornered himself. With little American and international enthusiasm, the Nobel peacemaker’s options against Bashar’s crossing the red line is limited. Putin delights in the imagery.

Syrian civil war is old sectarian violence and will take decades to resolve. With limited upside, it is up to Syrians.

So target the outsiders, damage Hezbollah and send Tehran the message their influence is unwelcome. Invite Israel to participate.

Rattle Hezbollah’s cage with a big punch they’ve not felt before. It’s a strike to hurt Bashar and a shot across Tehran’s bow.